Small Batch Strawberry Jam without Pectin

Ever heard of supermarket souvenirs?

Well, on my first trip to Europe in my early 20s, of all the many places that I visited, the one I found most fascinating was ... drum roll... the local supermarket. I still remember walking up and down the aisles of the GB supermarket in Brussels, admiring all the shiny, colorful fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Like a policeman on a beat, I'd thoroughly and systematically comb every aisle, keeping a keen eye out for interesting finds. Kriek cherry beer, Frangipane cakes, Guylian sea shell shaped chocolates,  Speculoos, Belgian waffles...nothing escaped me.

You see, all of this was pure novelty to me since I had come from India and grocery shopping in India at that time was terribly limited and fairly uninteresting to say the least.

So when it was time for me to travel back to India, it might come as no surprise to hear that I filled my suitcase with a lot of souvenirs sourced straight from the Belgian supermarkets. To this day, I still remember the little bottle of strawberry jam that I carefully wrapped up in my clothes and tucked in between boxes of cherry filled liqueur chocolates and packages of Belgian cheese.

Now you might wonder what's so special about strawberry jam, or confiture de fraise, as they say in Belgium. Well, this one was just full of whole strawberries suspended like jewels in a thick, luscious, ruby red viscous jam. Can you imagine that?! I had never seen or tasted anything like this before. In India, our strawberry jam was a smooth, pink jelly synthetically flavored with strawberry. Other than a picture of a strawberry on the label, no actual strawberries had ever been sighted in our Indian strawberry jam. So confiture de fraise from Belgium was an absolute delight.

Homemade Strawberry Jam with Whole Strawberries

My memory of the lovely Belgian strawberry jam has remained with me all these years. With strawberry season upon us, I decided that this summer was going to be the summer I make my own homemade strawberry jam using fresh, whole strawberries.

And that's just what I did. 

I made a small batch of strawberry jam without using any pectin. 

My jam recipe consists of just 3 simple ingredients: strawberries, sugar and lemon juice.

And it turned out just berrylicious! 

My homemade strawberry jam without pectin

The gloriously sweet smell of strawberry wafting through the house while I cooked the jam on the stove was unbelievable. And I'm so pleased with the color of the jam; a deep, rich ruby red and completely natural. 

Spreading it over bread and butter was the absolute best.

Nothing like bread and jam

How to Make a Small Batch of Strawberry Jam without Pectin 

My recipe for strawberry preserves without pectin uses just 3 ingredients: strawberries, sugar and lemon juice.

1. Choose Slightly Unripe Fruit

When choosing strawberries, I chose slightly unripe or just ripe strawberries as they are more acidic and contain more natural pectin that ripe fruit

2. Ratio of Fruit to Sugar

My jam recipe consists of 1:1 fruit to sugar ratio. 

Sugar helps preserve the jam and prevents it from spoiling, but too much sugar and the jam may end up crystallizing on storage.

3. Lemon Juice

Adding a little lemon juice helps increase the acidity. Since the sugar, acid and pectin levels are naturally low in strawberries, it's good to add a little lemon juice.

 

 

The Guardian's Science and Magic of Jam-Making explains the concept behind the formation of jam and helped answer my many questions, as a first time strawberry jam maker, that I had on how and when to add the sugar, how to tell if the jam has set, how to cool and decant my jars and how to cap and store my jam.

 

 

 

I bottled my strawberry jam and printed out a pretty label with my logo on it. Perfect for distributing as a gift over the summer.

 

Old Fashioned Strawberry Jam-

The Jam Making Process with Pictures

Below is the process with pictures. The actual recipe follows at the end of the post.

 

 1. Wash strawberries and remove hulls and green tops. Slice the large strawberries. Crush a few of the strawberries.

Hulled and halved strawberries

 

2. Put strawberries in a saucepan and add the sugar.

Combine sugar and strawberries in saucepan

3. Heat over medium heat. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil.

 4. Once boiling, add the lemon juice.

After the sugar completely dissolves, the fruit and sugar come to a rolling boil.

 

 

 

5. Boil, stirring regularly until the jam reaches 220°F  or 104-105°C (approx. 15- minutes). At this point the jam should have thickened and have a glossy sheen.

Jam reaching 220°F has thickened and has a glossy sheen

6. When you reach the right temperature, carefully pour into sterile jars and allow to cool to room temperature.

Cooled jam

How to Test if Jam has Set Without Thermometer

So, if you don't have a candy thermometer there are other ways to test if the jam has set.

1. The Wrinkle Test

Keep a plate in freezer before starting to cook the jam. When you think the jam has reached it's setting point, take the saucepan off the stove. Drop a teaspoon full of jam on the cold plate and push gently with your finger. If the jam has reached it's setting point it will start to wrinkle.

2. The Flake Test

Coat a wooden spoon with the jam. Allow it to cool slightly.

Then hold it back vertically over the pan. If the jam has set the jam will not slide off the spoon back into the pan easily.

 

Kilner Jar has some very helpful tips on how to identify setting points correctly.

 

Recipe for Strawberry Preserves without Pectin

Ingredients:

☐  1 lb. strawberries
☐  1 lb. white sugar
☐  2 tablespoons lemon juice

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Wash strawberries and remove hulls and green tops. Slice the large strawberries. Crush a few of the strawberries.
2. Put strawberries in a saucepan and add the sugar.
3. Heat over medium heat. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil.
4. Once boiling, add the lemon juice.
5.  Boil, stirring regularly until the jam reaches 220°F (approx. 15 minutes). At this point the jam should have thickened and have a glossy sheen.
6. When you reach the right temperature, carefully pour into sterile jars and allow to cool to room temperature.
7. Cover and refrigerate.

 

 

Related Recipes:

Check out my Low Sugar Peach Jam Without Pectin